


La Douleur Exquise

by SugarsweetRomantic



Series: Love Is a Dreamer [1]
Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Episode: s01e14 The Lost Generation, F/F, First Kiss, Paris - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 09:13:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16426559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugarsweetRomantic/pseuds/SugarsweetRomantic
Summary: Josephine has a parting gift for Lucy, and a request.





	La Douleur Exquise

Enthusiastic conversations and bright laughter may have filled the  _ Dingo American Bar and Restaurant,  _ but Lucy Preston was momentarily fairly unaware of everything going on around her. She only had eyes for the Creole goddess leaning against the bar just a few feet away from her. Josephine Baker -  _ Freda McDonald _ , her mind told her - had managed to take her breath away within mere minutes of meeting her. It was currently May 1927, so the entertainer had just caused a sensation by performing in  _ Une vent de folie _ of the  _ Folies Bergères _ only a month earlier, but though Lucy had seen the photos of the scantily-clad woman in history books, nothing compared to the real thing. She was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, and, oh God, currently walking over to her.

“I was just wondering,” Josephine began in that delicious St. Louis accent of hers, “why you’re here...and what was your name again?” Her name? They hadn’t thought of pseudonyms yet, had they? Lucy quickly attempted to run through the database of pop-culture references in her mind, but the moment, nothing was coming up. Damn it, she needed Wyatt and his love of terrible television for this. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself, but the flowery scent of whatever soap or perfume Josephine used permeated her senses the moment she did, and her mind blanked.

“Lucille,” she managed to blurt out. Brilliant, Preston, such creativity! Maybe the ground could swallow her whole. That sounded like a great option right now. Or maybe that was just the alcohol and the fact that she had driven over to Mason Industries without having dinner first talking.

“Darling? Are you alright? You’re as pale as a damn sheet!” the woman stated, pulling an arm around her. Lucy absentmindedly noted that her skin was softer than she had expected. The entertainer was starting to move Lucy when Rufus and Dave ran to her side.

“What are you doing with her?” Rufus asked hurriedly, always the tactful interrogator. Josephine rolled her eyes.

“Just a girl taking care of another girl. Now, you boys go keep an eye on Ernest over there, and I’ll get your friend back to you as soon as she doesn’t look like she’s going to collapse on the spot, alright?” Before either man could protest, Josephine had already escorted Lucy out of the bar and up the stairs, leading her into a small apartment above the bar. She took the historian to a chair by the window, and guided her to take a seat while she herself sat down on the broad windowsill. The room had an amazing view of the  _ Rue Delambre _ , and Lucy’s gaze immediately locked onto the bright lights decorating  _ Montparnasse _ . It truly was one of the few quartiers of Paris that never slept. Well, inter-bellum anyway. It truly was a shame what the Second World War was going to do to European architecture and life, though  _ Montparnasse  _ itself would remain fairly unscathed, in comparison to other cities. Josephine’s voice, though softer and more gentle than before, brought her out of her thoughts. 

“You’re not from around here, are you, Lucille?” Lucy smiled shyly and shook her head.

“Not really, no.” More like ‘really not’. “We...move around a lot. I’m from California.”

“And what has brought you here, hm?” Josephine asked, letting her fingertips brush against Lucy’s cheek as she pushed a tendril of dark hair behind her ear. This couldn't really be happening. Here she was, in freaking Paris of all places, and the hottest woman of the era - in more ways than one - was flirting with her. Or, well, with Lucille, but that was a technicality. She could feel a warm blush spread across her cheeks and settle in her lower abdomen. 

“Just those two we were searching for,” Lucy barely managed to answer. Josephine had lowered her hand to tenderly grab hold of Lucy’s, while softly rubbing her thumb across the back of the historian's hand.

“Why?” The question was composed of only a single word, but it held so much more meaning. Why here? Why them? Why Lucy? 

“I want to tell you,” Lucy whispered, her eyes closing in a flash of insecurity, “but I can't.” She felt rather than heard Josephine hum in acknowledgement, the entertainer’s breath suddenly tickling the skin of her cheek. 

“So I presume you won't be staying here very long then, now that you've found them, I suppose?” Josephine asked. The sound of two men arguing outside faintly registered in Lucy’s ears. While keeping her eyes closed, she shook her head ever so slightly. She'd been on over a dozen trips through time now, but this was the very first time she regretted she would never be able to go back here again. Josephine spoke once more, her voice nothing more than a whisper: “Then let me give you a reason to return to Paris. To me.” The lightest of kisses was suddenly placed on the corner of Lucy’s mouth. Her hands instinctively reached for the other woman’s waist and her eyes opened with a flutter. Josephine was smiling at her, her silhouette sharpened against the dark backdrop by the soft glow of the lights coming in through the window. Lucy smiled back at her, her gaze apologetic. 

“As much as I'd like that, as I want that, I just…” she began, but before she could finish her sentence, Josephine leant in again, kissing her properly this time, and all Lucy could think about was how terribly soft her lips felt against her own and how strong her embrace was. They separated much too soon for her liking, but being held by the other woman wasn't anything she'd ever refuse either, she decided. 

“I know you have to leave soon, but come see me again someday?” Josephine asked, uncharacteristically shy in her request. 

“I can't promise that,” Lucy replied, leaning in to kiss her cheek. She tasted a hint of salt the moment her lips touched bronze skin, and looking up at Josephine’s face she could swear the woman's eyes were glistening. 

“Promise you'll try?”

“With all my heart.”

**Author's Note:**

> I mean, come on; Lucy basically fell in love with the woman the moment she saw her.  
> (Plus the actual Josephine Baker was indeed bisexual.)


End file.
